Aristide loyalists thwart Haiti opposition demonstration

by Bertrand Rosenthal

Friday, February 13, 2004

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): Hundreds of supporters loyal to embattled Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide burned barricades in the capital to block opposition demonstrations as violent political unrest continued Thursday.

After a week of bloodshed, which has left almost 50 dead, the opposition called off a planned demonstration in Port-au-Prince, saying it feared for the lives of its supporters after Aristide vowed not to stand down.

No deaths were reported Thursday, but the capital's streets remained volatile as members of the unarmed opposition reported four injuries: three stonings and a bullet wound, as pro-government militia tried to block their demonstration.

Several hundred Aristide followers took over the central Canape Vert square, where the opposition rally was to have been held and blocked surrounding roads with piles of rocks and burning tires.

Government supporters harangued passers-by suspected of being with the opposition, while anti-government protestors said a new demonstration was planned for Sunday.

The climate of fear has mounted across Haiti in the past week as armed groups took over several towns in the north of the impoverished Caribbean republic. Gonaives, the fourth-largest city, remained in the hands of the armed rebels, from whom the opposition distanced itself.

But the opposition was forced to call off a demonstration in Port-au-Prince for the second time in four days because of what it called intimidation tactics by Aristide followers.

"The lives of the demonstrators are being threatened," said Micha Gaillard, a leading member of the coalition of about 200 political parties and civic groups that have demanded Aristide stand down.

Andre Apaid, another leader of the coalition, called Democratic Platform, said members of the governing Lavalas party had been working with police against the opposition.

But he said the opposition would pursue its peaceful campaign against Aristide and again rejected links with the rebels who have taken over several towns.

"Instead of lies, corruption and violence, we want respect, justice and democracy," said opposition demonstrator Evans Paul.

Tensions mounted here a day after Aristide reaffirmed that he would not shorten his five-year mandate ending February 7, 2006. He appealed for dialogue with the opposition but also accused them of links to the "terrorist" groups controlling Gonaives and other towns.

"There have been 32 coups d'etat in Haiti in 200 years of independence, but we must now go from one democratic election to another democratic election," said Arisitide.

The unrest prompted a statement from the Parliamentary Assembly of the French-speaking World, a political bloc that promotes democracy and human rights, condemning the violence.

The group said it condemns "energetically the recourse to violence by armed groups and the actions committed against the civil population," in a statement issued in Paris.

The opposition launched its campaign after legislative elections in May 2000 that it said were rigged by Arisitide's parties. It also accuses him of mismanagement.

A United Nations mission has been sent to Haiti to assess what UN experts have called a mounting humanitarian crisis there. The unrest has compounded food and medical shortages caused by a series of natural disasters.

According to the UN, some 268,000 Haitians, mainly in the north, are dependent on humanitarian aid while 50 percent of the country's eight million people suffer chronic malnutrition.

The Haiti crisis is causing mounting international concern. Mediation by the Organisation of American States and the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have failed and Apaid said the opposition would not take part in elections while Aristide remained in power.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States was not seeking "regime change" in Haiti but was "disappointed" in Aristide's efforts to build "a functioning, stable democracy."

In 1994, then president Bill Clinton sent 20,000 troops in 1994 to return Aristide to power, three years after he was overthrown in a bloody military coup.

Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest, served a five-year term and was re-elected in 2000.

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